Maya's POV
The fork slipped from my hand and clattered against the plate.
Sebastian's phone was buzzing on the table between us. The screen lit up with a text message, and I saw it before I could look away: *"She's getting suspicious. Be careful tonight."*
My heart hammered in my chest. I looked up at Sebastian, but he was already reaching for his phone, his jaw tight. He read the message and his face went pale.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
He shoved the phone into his pocket and gave me a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, sorry. Just work stuff."
But I knew what I saw. *She's getting suspicious.* Who was she? And what was I doing here with him?
We were sitting at Marco's Italian Restaurant, a tiny place squeezed between a bookstore and a flower shop. Sebastian had picked me up an hour ago, and I'd been so nervous I could barely speak during the car ride. But then he'd started telling me this funny story about his neighbor's cat that kept stealing his newspapers, and I'd laughed so hard I forgot to be scared.
Now, though, everything felt different. Wrong.
"So," Sebastian said, leaning back in his chair. He was trying to act normal, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. "Tell me more about your art. You said you like to paint?"
I twisted my napkin in my lap. Part of me wanted to ask about the text message. The other part was too afraid of what he might say.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I paint sometimes. Mostly sunsets and oceans. Things that make me feel calm."
"That's beautiful," he said, and for a moment, his smile seemed real. "I'd love to see your work sometime."
Before I could respond, a woman walked past our table. She was tall and elegant, wearing a long black coat. As she passed, she looked directly at Sebastian, and something flashed across her face. Anger? Fear? She kept walking, but Sebastian's hands clenched into fists on the table.
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"No," he said too quickly. "Never seen her before."
He was lying. I could tell.
The waiter brought our food, and I stared down at my spaghetti without really seeing it. My mind was racing. What had I gotten myself into? Mom always said I was too trusting, that I needed to be more careful about who I let into my life. Maybe she was right.
"Maya," Sebastian said softly. "I can tell something's bothering you. Talk to me."
I looked up at him. His green eyes were so intense, so focused on me, that I almost believed he really cared. But that text message...
"I saw the text," I blurted out. "On your phone. About someone getting suspicious."
Sebastian's face went blank. For a long moment, he didn't say anything. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"I was hoping you didn't see that," he said.
"So it's true? You're hiding something?"
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Maya, I need you to listen to me very carefully. I'm going to tell you something, and you have to promise not to freak out."
My stomach twisted into knots. "What is it?"
"That message wasn't about you. It was about my sister. She's... she's in trouble. Bad trouble. And there are people watching me because they think I know where she is."
I blinked. "Your sister? You never mentioned a sister."
"I couldn't," he said. His eyes looked desperate now, almost pleading. "The less people who know about her, the safer she is. But she disappeared three weeks ago, and I've been looking for her ever since. That's why I moved to this town. I got a tip that she might be here."
None of this made sense. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because I didn't want to drag you into my mess," he said. "I liked you, Maya. From the moment I saw you in the hallway at school, I thought you were different. Special. And I wanted just one normal evening where I could forget about everything else and just... be with you."
I wanted to believe him. I really did. But something in my gut told me there was more to this story.
"If your sister's missing, why aren't the police helping you?" I asked.
Sebastian's jaw tightened. "Because she didn't want to be found. She ran away from some very dangerous people, and if I involve the police, they'll find her. And if they find her..." He trailed off, but the fear in his eyes finished the sentence for him.
A chill ran down my spine. "What kind of dangerous people?"
Before he could answer, his phone buzzed again. He pulled it out and his face went white as paper.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He showed me the screen. It was a photo of a girl who looked about my age, with long blonde hair and scared eyes. She was tied to a chair in what looked like a basement. Below the photo was a message: *"Stop looking or she dies."*
I gasped. "Is that your sister?"
Sebastian stood up so fast his chair fell backward. "We need to leave. Right now."
"What? Why?"
"Because they know I'm here. They know I'm with you." He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Maya, I'm so sorry. I never should have brought you here. I thought I was being careful, but—"
The lights in the restaurant went out.
People screamed. I heard glass breaking somewhere near the kitchen. Sebastian's hand tightened around mine.
"Stay close to me," he whispered in the darkness.
We started moving toward what I thought was the door, but then I heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Running toward us.
Sebastian pulled me in a different direction, weaving between tables. Someone bumped into me hard, and I almost fell. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.
Then the emergency lights kicked on, casting everything in an eerie red glow.
I saw them. Three men in dark clothes, blocking the exit. One of them looked straight at me and smiled. It was the scariest smile I'd ever seen.
"Sebastian Torres," the man called out. "We've been looking for you."
Sebastian pushed me behind him. "Run, Maya. When I tell you to, run for the back door and don't look back."
"I'm not leaving you," I said, my voice shaking.
"You have to. This isn't your fight."
The men started walking toward us. Sebastian tensed, ready to fight.
And that's when I saw her. The woman in the black coat from earlier. She was standing in the kitchen doorway, and she was pointing a gun.
Right at me.